Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on (a) indoor bought plants, (b) indoor hired plants, (c) outdoor bought plants and (d) outdoor hired plants in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: Purchases of plants are not separately identified. There has been a trend towards the provision of artificial plants to save ongoing maintenance costs. In The Department's offices there are now only two locations where live plants remain with maintenance charges of £2,566 per annum.

Departmental Policies (Hull)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Kingston upon Hull, North constituency, the effects on Kingston upon Hull, North of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Alun Michael: Since its establishment in 2001 Defra has put in place a comprehensive programme of action on issues including sustainable development, climate change and energy, sustainable consumption and production, natural resource protection, sustainable rural communities, and a sustainable farming and food sector. A summary of some our achievements to date can be found at http://defra/corporate/achievements. htm. I am confident that the Kingston upon Hull, North constituency will have benefited from these.
	Through our national strategy for waste, we are committed to delivering a step change to more sustainable waste management, including tough national targets to recycle or compost 17 per cent. of household waste by 2003–04, and 25 per cent. by 2005–06. To help local authorities achieve their own targets Defra's Waste Minimisation Fund was set up in 2002. As a result of successful bids for money from this fund by Kingston upon Hull City Council, the residents of the city should over the next few years reap the benefits, with a total of almost £2.4 million being awarded to the city council for the period 2003–04 and 2005–06 for projects to expand kerbside recycling schemes across the city covering a total of 110,000 households, including those in the Kingston upon Hull, North constituency.
	River water quality has improved along the River Hull over the last seven years. In 1997, none of the river's length within the city council area was considered to be of fair or better chemical quality, while by 2003 70 per cent. was measured as being of fair chemical quality. Over this same period the biological quality of the river has been of fair quality or better throughout. These improvements reflect Defra's policy to improve river water quality, which is one of the headline indicator's of sustainable development and to raise compliance with the EC Water Framework Directive.
	With grant support from Defra the Environment Agency has undertaken maintenance and improvement of flood defences around most of the Number estuary, including those in front of Hull, while also managing the River Hull defences along with the city council, and riparian owners. Since the mid 1990s, and as a result of this Defra funding the Agency has invested approximately £25 million on improvements to the Hull defences on the estuary, and approximately £5 million on works on the River Hull.
	Defra provides comprehensive statistical information. The following web address will take you directly to the service:
	http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/default.asp

Adoptions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adoptions were completed by each social services department in each of the last five years for children aged (a) nought to three, (b) four to 10 and (c) over 10 years.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is only available for the period 1999 to 2003, and has been placed in the House Libraries.

Care

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were (a) taken into care and (b) placed for adoption in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age.

Margaret Hodge: The following table shows the number of children who started to be looked after during the year ending 31 March by age on starting.
	
		Children who started to be looked after during the year ending 31 March by age on starting, 1994 to 2003 1,2,3—England Number
		
			 Year ending 31 March 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 All Children 31,400 32,500 32,100 29,900 29,700 28,400 28,600 25,200 25,300 24,100 
			 Under 1 3,200 3,400 3,300 3,300 3,200 3,500 3,700 3,700 4,000 3,800 
			 1–4 6,500 6,300 6,200 5,800 5,700 5,500 5,200 4,600 4,700 4,600 
			 5–9 5,900 6,100 6,200 5,900 6,200 5,600 5,400 4,700 4,500 4,600 
			 10–15 13,000 14,000 13,900 12,600 12,000 11,600 12,300 10,900 10,900 10,100 
			 16+ 2,800 2,700 2,600 2,200 2,600 2,200 2,000 1,300 1,300 1,000 
		
	
	(3) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.
	(4) Only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked after in each year has been counted.
	(5) Figures over 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100. All other figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2003
	The following table shows the number of children placed for adoption at some point in the year ending 31 March by age on placement starting.
	
		Children looked after placed for adoption at some point in the year ending 31 March by age on placement starting, 1994 to 2003 1,2,3,4,5—England Number
		
			 Year ending 31 March 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Number placed for adoption in year 3,800 3,700 3,800 3,900 4,200 4,900 6,100 7,100 7,800 7,200 
			 Under 1 790 750 690 670 830 1,000 1,300 1,400 1,500 1,400 
			 1–4 1,600 1,500 1,700 1,900 2,200 2,600 3,200 3,800 4,000 3,700 
			 5–9 1,100 1,200 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,200 1,500 1,800 2,000 1,900 
			 10–15 290 270 — — — 90 140 210 230 180 
			 16+ 10 10 — — — 10 10 10 20 0 
		
	
	(6) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.
	(7) Children looked after placed for adoption more than once in a year have only been counted once.
	(8) Children looked after placed for adoption where the placement spans several years have been counted once in each year.
	(9) Age at start of placement.
	(10) Figures over 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100. Figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced by "—". All other figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	SSDA903 return

Child Care

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how much money per head has been provided for (a) nursery and (b) pre-school education in England in each of the last seven years;
	(2)  how much money per head has been provided for (a) nursery and (b) pre-school education within the North Somerset local education authority in each of the last seven years.

Margaret Hodge: There have been underlying changes to the provision for and the funding of under fives which mean it is not meaningful to give per pupil funding over time. These include the abolition of flat rate nursery vouchers and changes from a nursery formula based on the number of eligible pupils in an area, to a formula based on the number of nursery places made available in an area. Additionally, authorities have been increasing provision to meet the commitment to universal nursery education for all three and four-year-olds and in recent years LEAs have been funded for extra pupils to allow them to reach universal provision.
	However, the following figures show the education expenditure by both central and local government for under fives in real terms. These figures do not include expenditure on child care nor on Sure Start:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,029 
			 1998–99 2,063 
			 1999–2000 2,292 
			 2000–01 2,569 
			 2001–02 3,090 
			 2002–03 3,138 
			 2003–04 3,541 
		
	
	Details of the annual expenditure just by "central" Government since 1997 on nursery education but including Sure Start and child care, are published in Table 2.2 of the annual Department for Education and Skills' Departmental Report, as follows. Services for young children and families have been increasingly integrated with nursery education and Sure Start since 2003–04 and the following table reflects this:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Sure start Child Care Nursery education Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 n/a 4 637 641 
			 1998–99 n/a 45 134 179 
			 1999–2000 7 56 150 213 
			 2000–01 56 65 247 368 
			 2001–02 134 109 224 467 
			 2002–03 216 158 306 680 
			 2003–04 745 — — 745 
			 2004–05 993 — — 993 
		
	
	Note:
	The scale of spending identified in 1997–98 was due to a major injection of Nursery Education Grant funding to support the establishment of substantial free provision in the private and voluntary sectors.

Children's Centres

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list children's centres which are (a) open and (b) planned for the Islington North constituency; what the total cost of each is estimated to be; and what the funding source for each is.

Margaret Hodge: There will be five children's centres in my hon. Friend's constituency by March 2006 and three of these have opened already. The authority is working with its partners on how resources will be allocated to these children's centres. Each centre will be developed by adding services to an existing setting, using children's centre funding alongside funding for other related or relevant programmes. Children's centre funding allocated to Islington is a total of £4,182,898 to fund the development of the 10 children's centres planned in the local authority by March 2006. It is for the local authority to determine how to allocate these resources. The following table sets out our understanding of the local authority's current planning in respect of the children's centres in Islington North (these are broad estimates and are subject to change).
	
		
			   Centre name   Based upon Revenue funding for 2005/06 (£) 
		
		
			 Archway Children's Centre—Designated Neighbourhood nursery/Early Years Centre 184,960 
			 Margaret Mcmillan Nursery School—Designated Sure Start Local Programme/Maintain ed School 20,504 
			 Ambler—Planned Maintained 117,100 
			  School/Early Years Centre  
			 The Factory Children's Centre—Planned Sure Start Local Programme 72,452 
			 Willow Early Years Centre—Designated Sure Start Local Programme/Early Years Centre 52,465 
		
	
	
		
			  Centre name Capital for 2005/06 (£)  Other sources of funding which might contribute 
		
		
			 Archway Children's Centre—Designated 845,000 NNI funding £86,400, Lottery funding £79,856 
			 Margaret Mcmillan Nursery School—Designated 1,170,00 SSLP Revenue 05/06 = £789,022 Capital = £1,075,000 
			 Ambler—Planned 1,000,000  
			 The Factory Children's Centre—Planned 1,000,000 SSLP Rev 05/06 = £759,022 Cap = £1,075,000 
			 Willow Early Years Centre—Designated 949,000 SSLP Rev = £768,750 Cap = £1,075,000 
		
	
	We will be writing to authorities in early February with details about the second phase of children's centre planning, including funding allocations. These new resources will enable authorities to sustain existing centres and start planning further centres to open between 2006–08. This will help towards meeting our target of 3,500 children centres by 2010—so every family has easy access to high quality integrated services in their community.

Looked-after Children

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of looked-after children who entered university or further education in each year between 1997 and 2004.

Margaret Hodge: The following table shows the number of 19-year-old former care leavers in education on their 19th birthday. The information included in this table was not collected prior to the year 2001–02.
	
		Former care leavers at age 19 who were looked after on 1 April 1999,1 April 2000 and 1 April 2001 aged 16 (in their 17th year) in education1,2,3—England
		
			  Year ending 31 March 
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Number of care leavers aged 19 4,700 4,900 5,100 
			 Number in education(16) 870 1,000 1,200 
			 Percentage 18 21 23 
		
	
	(13) Figures are taken from the OC3 return.
	(14) Figures exclude former care leavers who were looked after on 1 April aged 16 who were looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.
	(15) Figures over 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100. All other figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	(16) Includes those in higher education and those in education other than higher education.
	Source:
	Children Looked After in England (including adoptions and care leavers) 2003–04.

Asylum Seekers

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's responsibilities to asylum seekers under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Des Browne: As a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the United Kingdom must not remove any asylum applicant if to do so would expose them to a well founded fear of persecution. We are proud of the United Kingdom's record in providing a safe haven for refugees, many of whom are fleeing in fear of their lives from the most desperate human cruelty. Like all other developed countries, we will continue to meet our obligations under the Refugee Convention which is part of a legal and ethical framework that enshrines basic principles of human decency.
	The European Convention on Human Rights imposes various obligations on States in their treatment of everyone within their jurisdiction, which includes asylum seekers. ECHR caselaw also prohibits the return of anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Fines/Fixed Penalties

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of (a) fixed penalties and (b) fines imposed by the courts in England and Wales were collected in full in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04.

Caroline Flint: Available information (by calendar year) for England and Wales on the percentage of motoring fixed penalties paid are given in the table. Information for 2003 will be available in the spring of 2005.
	
		Motoring offences Percentage
		
			 Fixed penalties 2000 2001 2002 1 
		
		
			 Paid within 28 days 58.1 59.1 58.7 
			 Payment accepted after 28 days 22.3 23.1 23.2 
			 Total paid 80.4 82.2 81.9 
		
	
	(17) Estimates.
	The latest provisional data shows that, up to 31 August 2004, 28,743 penalty notices for disorder have been issued by police forces in England and Wales of which 12,978, or 45 per cent., were paid in full within the 21 day payment period. If the penalty is not paid or a court hearing requested within this time then a fine is registered against the individual. The evaluation of data from the pilots of penalty notices for disorder showed that payment of fines added to the penalties paid on time resulted in an overall payment rate of 70 per cent.
	Information from the Department for Constitutional Affairs shows that the payment rate for financial penalties was 59 per cent. in 2001–02, 55 per cent. in 2002–03, 74 per cent. in 2003–04 and 79 per cent. in 2004–05 (August to October).
	However, as a result of revisions in the method of calculating the payment rate, direct year-on-year comparisons cannot be made and although recent changes to the way data are collected from Magistrates' Court Committees allows confiscation orders to be excluded, it is still not possible for fines, costs and compensation to be identified separately, so the figures relate to financial penalties in general, as opposed to fines in isolation.
	The Department for Constitutional Affairs' Enforcement Programme is delivering a wide programme of change aimed at improving the enforcement and administration of financial penalties. The national payment rate is currently (Q3 2004–05) at 80 per cent., up 9 per cent. on the same period last year, and performance is on trajectory to meet the 78 per cent. national target at the end of the year. The ongoing work of the Programme includes improving the intelligence available to enforcement teams through a variety of information-sharing measures, national implementation of the new legislative framework for enforcement provided by the Courts Act and taking the opportunity offered by the launch of HMCS to introduce more effective and efficient ways of working. The Programme has also devised and supported a series of nationally co-ordinated fine enforcement blitzes, with the most recent—'Operation Payback 2' in November 2004—resulting in a positive impact on the payment rate of £1.7 million.

Fixed Penalty Notices

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices have been issued in each authority for nuisance behaviour in each year since their introduction.

Hazel Blears: 6,043 penalty notices for disorder were issued in the 12 months from August 2002 when the scheme was piloted in four police force areas. 57,472 (a provisional figure) have been issued in the period January to December 2004. Details by police force area are shown in the table.
	
		Number of penalty notices for disorder given for all offences during 2002, 2003 and 2004—England and Wales
		
			 Police force area Number of PNDs issued for all offences during pilot period(18) Number of PNDs issued for all offences in 2004 2 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset — 466 
			 Bedfordshire — 487 
			 Cambridgeshire — 320 
			 Cheshire — 894 
			 Cleveland — 554 
			 Cumbria — 576 
			 Derbyshire — 620 
			 Devon and Cornwall — 1,845 
			 Dorset — 475 
			 Durham — 376 
			 Essex 1,644 2,635 
			 Gloucestershire — 690 
			 Greater Manchester — 2,200 
			 Hampshire — 1,756 
			 Hertfordshire — 373 
			 Humberside — 1,387 
			 Kent — 694 
			 Lancashire — 4,868 
			 Leicestershire — 638 
			 London, City of — 47 
			 Lincolnshire — 442 
			 Merseyside — 3,556 
			 Metropolitan police(20) 392 10,675 
			 Norfolk — 469 
			 North Yorkshire — 801 
			 Northamptonshire — 536 
			 Northumbria(21) — 194 
			 Nottinghamshire — 970 
			 South Yorkshire — 1,687 
			 Staffordshire — 1,394 
			 Suffolk — 445 
			 Surrey — 200 
			 Sussex — 1,432 
			 Thames Valley — 868 
			 Warwickshire — 448 
			 West Mercia — 197 
			 West Midlands 3,569 4,567 
			 West Yorkshire — 4,035 
			 Wiltshire — 491 
			 Dyfed-Powys — 405 
			 Gwent — 379 
			 North Wales(20) 438 1,197 
			 South Wales — 183 
			 Total England and Wales 6,043 57,472 
		
	
	(18) August 2002 to August 2003.
	(19) Provisional.
	(20) Part of force only involved in pilot.
	(21) Commenced issuing penalty notices from 1 November 2004.

Illegal Immigration

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what technical surveillance equipment is installed at ports of entry to the UK; and how many sniffer dogs are deployed at ports of entry.

Des Browne: holding answer 1 February 2005
	A range of surveillance equipment is installed at UK ports of entry. This includes CCTV cameras to record both arriving and departing passengers and New Detection Technology (NDT) to detect clandestine entrants. The location of this equipment is as follows:
	The Immigration Service operates cameras at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. In addition to the systems operated solely by the Immigration Service access is provided at other locations by the port operators to their local systems.
	A combination of NDT, including Passive Millimetric Wave Imagers, Heart Beat Detectors, Gamma Ray Scanner and CO 2 probes are deployed at various locations including Calais, Coquelles, Dunkirk, Ostend, Zeebrugge and Vlissingen. This technology is either operated by the port authority, the carrying company or by UK immigration staff.
	CO 2 probes are also deployed at various UK locations and in addition the Mobile Freight Search Team, deploying both CO 2 probes and body detection dogs covers a variety of United Kingdom Ports. The team is intelligence led and maintains the flexibility to respond to threats at other ports.
	Details of the deployment of NOT and the Mobile Freight Search Team cannot be released, as this would compromise Border Control operations.
	The UK Immigration Service currently has eight body detection dogs and they are deployed at both juxtaposed locations and in the UK.

Independent Police Complaints Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints from (a) England and Wales, (b) Essex and (c) Southend have been (i) made to the Independent Police Complaints Authority, (ii) upheld and (iii) investigated by (A) the authority, (B) another police force and (C) an independent organisation since its inception in April 2004.

Hazel Blears: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) informs me that 4,043 complaints from England and Wales and 108 complaints from Essex have been made direct to the IPCC.
	As of 25 January 2005, there were 21 investigations being independently investigated by the IPCC, of which four complaints were made direct to the IPCC.
	However, as it is the responsibility of individual police forces to record all complaints, and because not all complaints come through, or involve the participation of, the IPCC, the other statistics requested by my hon. Friend could be obtained only from the IPCC, police forces and police authorities at disproportionate cost.
	Although there is no statutory requirement for the IPCC, Essex Police, or indeed any other organisation to collect or record the information that my hon. Friend requests, the IPCC will collect and publish complaints' statistics on an annual basis. The IPCC hopes to publish the first set of figures for the year beginning 1 April 2004, in November of this year.
	Finally, I understand that the IPCC would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you direct any questions that you may have on the new complaints system and the keeping of statistics.

Legislation

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what pieces of legislation passed in the last 30 years that the Department is responsible for remain to be brought into force, broken down by year of enactment.

Fiona Mactaggart: The table, which has been placed in the Library, lists the bills introduced by the Home Office in the sessions 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–2001, 2001–2002 and 2002–2003. The table indicates the extent to which provisions are not in force or only partially in force.
	It is not possible to provide information for legislation passed in the last 30 years without incurring disproportionate cost.

Stafford Prison Escape

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Written Answer of 20 January 2005, Official Report, column 1088W, if he will ensure that his Department notifies the hon. Member for Stafford when the report into the escapes from Stafford Prison on 8 December 2004 is completed; and if he will arrange for the hon. Member to receive a briefing on the contents of the report.

Paul Goggins: The investigation into the escapes from Stafford prison has been completed and the report has been accepted by the Area Manager for the West Midlands. The Governor will contact the hon. Member to arrange to brief him on the report.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 15 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Thomas Gill.

Christopher Leslie: The Secretary of State replied to the hon. Member on 2 February 2005.

Correspondence

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bassetlaw of 13 October 2004 about the Child Support Agency and his constituent, Catherine Pears.

Malcolm Wicks: The hon. Member's letter was passed to the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency who has replied today and apologised for the delay.

Low Income Households

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in poverty in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04.

Chris Pond: I have been asked to reply.
	Poverty is about more than low income, it also impacts on the way people live—their health, housing and the quality of their environment. The sixth annual "Opportunity for all" report (Cm 6239) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents information on the indicators used to measure progress against this strategy.
	Data on the number of children in Great Britain living in low income households are published in the Department for Work and Pensions' Households Below Average Income series. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting absolute and relative trends in low income.
	According to the latest data, in 2002–03 2.6 million children in the United Kingdom were living in households below 60 per cent. median income on the Before Housing Costs measure, and 3.6 million children were living in low income on the After Housing Costs measure. Data for 2003–04 is not available until spring 2005, when it will be published as part of Households Below Average Income publication.
	In December 2003, we published Measuring child poverty" which outlines the Government's new measure of child poverty which will be used from 2004–05.
	All publications listed are available in the Library.

Poverty (Stoke-on-Trent)

Mark Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many children were living in poverty in Stoke-on-Trent in each of the past seven years;
	(2)  how many children lived in low income households in Stoke-on-Trent in each of the last seven years.

Chris Pond: Our first step towards eradicating child poverty as set out in our current Public Service Agreement target is to reduce the number of children in low-income households by a quarter by 2004–05. This is measured using the proportion of children in relative low income households. Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in "Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2002–03". Data is not available below the regional level and is only available as proportions at the regional level. It should be noted that the reporting of year on year changes in the regional low-income rates are not reliable.
	'Measuring child poverty", published in December 2003, outlines the Governments measure of UK child poverty for the long-term. The measure will consist of three tiers; absolute low income, relative low income and material deprivation and low income combined. The Government will set a target as part of the 2006 SR06 Spending Review to halve by 2010–11 the numbers of children suffering a combination of material deprivation and relative low income. Data will not be available below the regional level.
	All publications listed are available in the Library.

Leasehold

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Public Sector Leasehold Working Party last met; and when it is scheduled to meet next.

Keith Hill: The working party last met on 16 May 2003. It is to be reconstituted, with a smaller membership and tighter focus, under the chairmanship of LEASE. LEASE'S aim is for the first meeting of the new working party to be held in the first quarter of 2005.

Right to Buy

Andrew Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the local authorities whose request to be included within the scope of the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendments) Order 2003 (Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 498) was rejected; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: On 22 January 2003, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced that he was minded to lower to 316,000 the prescribed maximum Right to Buy discount limits in 42 areas which appeared to him to be subject to the greatest housing market pressures. He rejected the requests of the following 12 local authorities, that maximum discounts should also be lowered in their areas:
	Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
	Broxbourne Borough Council
	Cambridge City Council
	Council of the Isles of Scilly
	Luton Unitary Council
	Milton Keynes Unitary Council
	Sevenoaks District Council
	Slough Borough Council
	St Albans City and District Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	South Oxfordshire District Council
	Thurrock Unitary Council
	My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister accepted that there were housing pressures in these areas, but was not persuaded at that time that these justified lowering the maximum Right to Buy discounts available to tenants. The authorities were informed by letters dated 6 March 2003.

Civil Servants

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what the cost of the enhanced early retirement scheme for civil servants in his Office was in each year from 1997–98 to 2003–04 and what the estimated cost will be in each year from 2004–05 to 2007–08; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I have therefore asked my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office for South Shields, (Mr. Miliband) to reply. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether departmental special advisers have been responsible for authorising instances of departmental spending since May 1997;
	(2)  whether departmental special advisers have given instructions to permanent civil servants without the explicit authorisation of Ministers since May 1997.

Ivor Caplin: I refer to the answer given on 16 December 2004, Official Report, column 1259, by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Miliband). One special adviser currently has such powers.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether departmental special advisers have written to external (a) bodies and (b) individuals in their official capacity since May 1997.

Ivor Caplin: I refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the then Minister of State for the Cabinet Office (Ruth Kelly) on 14 December 2004, Official Report, column 1004W.

Swan Hunter

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Swan Hunter regarding a financial support package; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 January 2005, Official Report, column 381W. The Ministry of Defence does not provide financial support to the defence industry.
	The contract with Swan Hunter for the delivery of two Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) ships to the armed forces was recently amended following difficulties Swan Hunter had in meeting the original programme due to its underestimation of the engineering requirements in the design and construction of the ships. The £84 million revised contract does not offer the company a financial support package but one that offers the best value for money to the taxpayer in the delivery of these ships.
	The lead department for policy relating to Government financial support to industry is the Department for Trade and Industry with the responsibility for funding decisions devolved to Regional Development Agencies.

Burnley

Peter Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Burnley constituency, the effects on Burnley of his Department's policies and actions since 2nd May 1997.

Stephen Timms: The Government have put in place a broad programme of both macroeconomic and microeconomic reform since our election in 1997 designed to better the economic performance of all parts of the UK. Since these policies were implemented the economic performance of the Burnley constituency has improved considerably. For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 46 per cent. and both long-term unemployment and long-term youth unemployment have fallen by over three quarters.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at Parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk./.

Cancer

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the survival rates for (a) all cancers and (b) each cancer classified by target organ were in the latest period for which figures are available; and what comparative information he collates on survival rates in other Western nations.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Andrew Murrison, dated 4 February 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what the survival rates for (a) all cancers and (b) each cancer classified by target organ were in the latest period for which figures are available; and what comparative information is collated on survival rates in other Western nations. (213143)
	Cancer survival rates are only produced for specific cancers. A figure giving the overall survival rate for all cancer patients is not produced as it would not be meaningful to combine figures for disparate conditions having very different survival rates.
	The latest available one- and five-year survival rates for the 20 most common cancers in England and Wales are for adult patients (aged 15–99 years) diagnosed during 1996–99 and followed up to 31 December 2001. These figures were published on the National Statistics website on 9th March 2004, and are available at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdatasetasp?vlnk=7899
	Information on cancer survival in other Western nations is available for those countries within the European Union and is provided by the EUROCARE study. This covers parts of the UK and Europe. The most recently published results from this study provide information on survival up to five years after diagnosis for patients diagnosed with cancer during 1990–94 and followed up to the end of 1999. These results were published in:
	Berrino, F, Capocaccia, R, Coleman MP, et al. (editors) (2003). Survival of Cancer Patients in Europe: the EUROCARE-3 Study. Annals of Oncology. Volume 14, Supplement 5.
	This volume is available online at http://www.annonc. oupjournals.org/content/voll4/suppl 5/index.dtl

Employment Statistics

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of (a) married, (b) cohabiting and (c) lone mothers are in (i) part-time and (ii) full-time work.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Willetts, dated 4 February 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about mothers in employment. (213897)
	The attached table gives the estimates of the percentage of mothers with dependent children working full or part-time.
	These estimates from the Labour Force Survey are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	
		Percentage of mothers with dependent children workingfull or part-time; three months ending November 2004 Not seasonally adjusted
		
			   Percentage working: 
			 Mothers(27) with dependent children(28) Full-time Part-time 
		
		
			 Total 7,105,000 28.5 38.4 
			 Married 4,599,000 29.4 42.2 
			 Cohabiting 862,000 30.4 36.6 
			 Lone mothers 1,644,000 25.3 28.6 
		
	
	(27) Aged 16 and over.
	(28) Dependent children are those aged under 16 and those aged 16–18 who are in full-time education and have never married.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Goodison Review

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what progress his Department has made in implementing the Goodison Review;
	(2)  which of the recommendations of the Goodison Review have yet to be implemented.

Stephen Timms: In the 2004 Spending Review the Government announced that:
	annual funding for the National Heritage Memorial Fund will double by 2007–08, compared to 2004–05;
	the Renaissance in the Regions programme for regional museums will be extended to all nine English regions; and
	the free access commitment, which currently covers the main national museums and galleries, and the VAT refund scheme that helps deliver free access, will be extended to university museums and galleries.
	Other recommendations relating to tax are being considered as part of our ongoing work. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport also plans to transfer administrative functions to the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (formerly Resource) as recommended by the Goodison Review.

Tobacco Taxes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total tax take from cigarettes and cigars and connected products has been in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Duty receipts for tobacco products can be found in the HM Customs and Excise "Tobacco Bulletin", which is available in the Library of the House of Commons and from HM Customs and Excise website address at http://www.uktradeinfo.co.uk/index.cfm? task=bulltobac
	HM Customs and Excise do not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services.

Tobacco, Alcohol, Pubs and Restaurants (Employment)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed in (a) the manufacture and retail of cigarettes, cigars and connected businesses, (b) public houses and restaurants and (c) the alcoholic drinks industry in the United Kingdom.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Laurence Robertson, dated 4 February 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about numbers of people employed in selected alcohol and tobacco-related industries in the UK. (214058)
	Estimates of employment by industry are derived from employer surveys and statistics are available on number of jobs, not numbers of people.
	Estimates are classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2003. The attached table shows the number of jobs in alcohol and tobacco-related industries in Great Britain, in December 2003, the latest period available.
	
		Number of employee jobs 1 in selected tobacco andalcohol related industries: Great Britain, 2003
		
			  Industry and SIC03 code 2 Number 
		
		
			 1600 Manufacture of tobacco products 3,200 
			 5125 Wholesale of unmanufactured tobacco(31)  
			 5135 Wholesale of tobacco products 3,500 
			 5226 Retail sale of tobacco products 17,200 
			
			 5530 Restaurants(32) 586,700 
			 5540 Bars(33) 536,600 
			
			 1591 Manufacture of distilled potable alcoholic beverages 9,800 
			 1592 Production of ethyl alcohol from fermented materials(31)  
			 1593 Manufacture of wines 500 
			 1594 Manufacture of cider and other fruit wines 1,300 
			 1595 Manufacture of other non-distilled fermented beverages(31)  
			 1596 Manufacture of beer 18,400 
			 1597 Manufacture of malt 2,200 
			 5134 Wholesale of alcoholic and other beverages 26,500 
			 5225 Retail sale of alcoholic and other beverages 37,400 
			
			 5117 Agents involved in the sale of food, beverages and tobacco(34) 4,100 
			 5139 Non-specialised wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco(34) 73,700 
			 5211 Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating(35) 1,021,300 
			 5227 Other retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores(35) 28,400 
		
	
	(29) Estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	(30) Estimates are classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification 2003.
	(31) Estimates are suppressed under the 1947 Statistics of trade, preventing the release of data that may disclose companies.
	(32) Estimates include some unlicensed restaurants and cafes.
	(33) Estimates include some unlicensed clubs.
	(34) Estimates include agents involved in sale of food.
	(35) Estimates include jobs in outlets which sell large variety of goods, of which however food products, beverages or tobacco are predominant.
	Source:
	Annual Business Inquiry 2003.

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Solicitor-General what percentage of the Law Officers' Departments' staff is based in London.

Harriet Harman: Information, on regional distribution of staff is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at: http//www.civilservice.gov. uk/management information/statistical information/statistics/contents for civil service statistics 2003 report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	The figure for HMCPS Inspectorate for the same period, which is not recorded separately in that publication, is 74 per cent. of staff based in London.
	Figures relating to 1 April 2004 are due to be published during February 2005.

Farmers Markets

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will invite the North West Regional Development Agency to assess the contribution of farmers markets to the economy in the North West.

Patricia Hewitt: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Agency to write to the hon. Member: a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Contracts

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts in his Department have been granted to (a) EDS, (b) Fujitsu and (c) EDS and Fujitsu jointly in each of the last two years; whether they were open to competition; for what they were granted; for how much; over what period of time; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has had no joint EDS/Fujitsu contracts. Contracts granted to EDS and Fujitsu separately over each of the last two years are listed:
	
		
			£ 
			 EDS
			 Title Competition Cost Duration 
		
		
			 Network Storage Solution Yes (through GCAT)* 500,000 29 March 2004–29 March 2007 
			 Fujitsu — — — 
			 FCONet Phase Yes (through SCAT)* 1,087,000 28 March 2003–29 March 2007 
			 FCONet Phase No—single source addition for compatibility reasons, to an earlier contract that was open to competition 2,077,000 — 
			 Warning Index OnLine(WIOL) No—for compatibility reasons this was an addition to a Home Office contract which was open to competition. 2,400,000 2001 April 2003 to 31 March 2005 
		
	
	The FCO seeks to award all of its contracts through open competition according to the EU Procurement Regulations, based on best value for money.
	Office of Government Commerce Goods and Services Catalogues (GCAT & SCAT).